Crucified With Christ, A New Creature

Galatians 6:14-15 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is CRUCIFIED unto me, and I unto the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but A NEW CREATURE.

When Paul – guided by the Holy Spirit – started his letter to the Galatians – he was shocked that the Galatians had departed from the Gospel of salvation in Christ (Galatians 1:6-10). Pharisees – many saved by Grace – came into the Church that Jesus died for, and had begun to teach that unless you are circumcised, you cannot be saved.

Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians around 48 AD while in Antioch, Syria, following his first missionary journey. Paul would travel to Jerusalem in 49 AD and meet with the first Church to discuss circumcision and the Gentiles.

Paul and Barnabas came to the Apostles at the first Church in Jerusalem, and the Church on that day had the most important Business Meeting it would ever have. The Bible says:

Acts 15:5 (ESV) But some BELIEVERS WHO BELONGED TO THE PARTY OF THE PHARISEES rose up and said, “It is necessary to CIRCUMCISE {THE GENTILES} and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

Now these Pharisees were sincere believers in Christ. They were not hostile Pharisees, trying to destroy the Gospel. But sincere believers can be in error. This is why God calls us TOGETHER to be His Church.

These Pharisees had received the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. As Jewish citizens of Israel, they had been circumcised – most of them on the eighth day following birth. These people were SINCERE. They were not trying to cause divisions in the Church, but were trying to honor God the Son in all that they did. The Apostle Peter stood up and said,

Acts 15:7-11 (ESV)… “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth THE GENTILES SHOULD HEAR THE WORD OF THE GOSPEL AND BELIEVE. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, HAVING CLEANSED THEIR HEARTS BY FAITH. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that WE WILL BE SAVED THROUGH THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS, JUST AS THEY WILL.”

James, the Pastor of the Church in Jerusalem, stood up and agreed. He said:

Acts 15:19-20 (ESV) Therefore my judgment is that we should NOT TROUBLE THOSE OF THE GENTILES WHO TURN TO GOD, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

It was agreed in this first Church Meeting that the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised. They were to avoid idolatry, sexual immorality, and from eating blood. Pagan warriors and hunters would often drink blood from their kills, or even from defeated enemies. God forbade drinking of blood because life is sacred (see Leviticus 17:10-14; Genesis 9:4; Hebrews 9:22). It is the shedding of Christ’s blood that brings remission of sins.

[By the way, this doesn’t mean you can’t eat a rare steak. The red liquid in a rare steak is called myoglobin, a protein found in muscle tissue. An animal properly butchered has all it’s blood removed. Animals that were strangled did not have their blood drained, and so were not to be eaten. See the site American Torah and The Steak School by Stanbroke, or delish.com. I quote the latter site:

“Most consumers don’t think about it, but by the time a piece of beef, pork, or chicken reaches the store—let alone your kitchen—all the blood has been removed from that meat. When any animal is slaughtered, it undergoes a specific blood-draining process called exsanguination. The blood is removed to help keep the meat safe for consumption (blood can be a breeding ground for bacteria), and also to make the product more appealing for consumers. This step is not optional: it’s a key part of meat processing. ”]

God directed – through the early Church – that circumcision was not binding on a Gentile, but only on a Jew. God established it specifically on the children of Abraham (Genesis 17:10-11), saying:

“This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which YOU {Abraham} are to keep: Every MALE AMONG YOU MUST BE CIRCUMCISED. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

God Doesn’t Order We Be Circumcised.
God Orders Us To Be Crucified!

As I preached this morning (and I will not preach it again tonight), repentance is the first command that must be met in salvation. If you want to be saved, you MUST repent. Repentance doesn’t mean to feel sorry for your sin, but to change your mind about who is God, and who is not. When you repent and believe on Jesus Christ, you go to Him as BOTH LORD AND SAVIOR. You give your life to Him, broken as it is, and begin to follow Him daily. God causes the believer to be born again, indwelt by His very Presence, sealed for Heaven, and adopted into the Family of God.

A Christian becomes – by the Grace of God – a NEW CREATURE. You are bound to Jesus eternally.

Galatians 2:20-21 (KJV) I am CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: NEVERTHELESS I LIVE; yet not I, but CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is CRUCIFIED unto me, and I unto the world.

The true Christian is CRUCIFIED with Jesus. The day we were saved, we gave God our broken lives, and surrendered to the Cross. The world is crucified unto us. Before we met Jesus, the Bible says:

Ephesians 5:8 (NKJV) For you were ONCE DARKNESS, but NOW [you are] light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

The believer, though imperfect, wants to walk with Jesus in His light. The God Who turned a dark and confused universe into order and light, reaches into the willing soul to change them from darkness and into light.

2 Corinthians 4:2-7 (NKJV) But WE HAVE RENOUNCED the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even IF OUR GOSPEL IS VEILED, IT IS VEILED TO THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING, 4 whose MINDS THE GOD OF THIS AGE HAS BLINDED, who do not believe, LEST THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the GOD WHO COMMANDED LIGHT TO SHINE OUT OF DARKNESS, WHO HAS SHONE IN OUR HEARTS TO GIVE THE LIGHT of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

A lost person walks in the darkness, at peace with the darkness of this world. A lost person – like they did Christ on Calvary – stands off mocking Him.

Luke 23:35, 37 … (NKJV) The rulers SNEERED, He saved others; LET HIM SAVE HIMSELF IF HE IS THE CHRIST, the chosen of God. … The soldiers MOCKED, If You are the King of the Jews, SAVE YOURSELF

The world loves its sin. The world loves the darkness. The world wants to be gods and goddesses, to rule itself and mock the Maker. The world has its preachers with its self help little “g” gospel message. “Save yourselves! Send us money. Work harder. Get crucified. Be good enough, as the world defines good. If anyone deserves Heaven, you do. Tell God that you’re god, and He’s your servant. Only call on God when you need a genie, a good luck piece, a tool, a spare tire.”

The Christian is crucified with Christ. We are on display, mocked by the world. Jesus went to the Cross because the Father bade Him do so. The Christian willingly goes to the Cross. Our hands are nailed to His Cross.

Colossians 1:13-18 (ESV) {God the Holy Spirit} has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

What is the mark of the Christian? The Christian does not walk in darkness. Yes, there may be times when we may slip – but the Spirit bids us return. The Christian will not stay in sin, but follows Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Jesus is our Oxygen. Jesus is our Blood. Jesus is our Light. Jesus is our Food. Jesus is our Drink. Jesus is our Hope. Jesus is our Partner. Jesus is our Sustainer. Jesus is our Life Preserver. Jesus is our Parachute. Jesus is our Elder Brother. Jesus is our Rock. As His hands and feet were bound to the Cross, the Christian’s hands and feet are bound to the Cross.

1 Thessalonians 5:5-10 (NKJV) You are all SONS OF LIGHT and SONS OF THE DAY. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others [do], but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But LET US WHO ARE OF THE DAY BE SOBER, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and [as] a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, WE SHOULD LIVE TOGETHER WITH HIM.

We cannot save ourselves. We surrender our broken lives to Jesus, believing in Him, and begin the journey of faith that will only end with eternal life with Him in glory.

God Don’t Care About Your Religion.
He Alone Can Make You A New Creature.

Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but A NEW CREATURE.

The early Church was often plagued by sincere but misunderstanding Pharisees. These people – born into the line of Abraham – were sincere in bringing Judaism to Christianity. The problem was that the old Covenant and the New Covenant do not mix. The Old Covenant was focused on animal sacrifice, human religious acts, and the blood of circumcision. But the New Covenant is focused on the completed work of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. It is focused on CRUCIFIXION, not on CIRCUMCISION.

Are you a new creature in Christ – or the same old you?

When a person comes to Christ, God changes that person from the inside out. The Scripture says:

Romans 6:6-12 (KJV) Knowing this, that OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now IF WE BE DEAD WITH CHRIST, we believe that WE SHALL ALSO LIVE WITH HIM: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise RECKON YE ALSO YOURSELVES TO BE DEAD INDEED TO SIN, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

The early Church dealt with people trying to ADD THINGS to the Gospel and salvation. The modern Church has to deal with people SUBTRACTING THINGS FROM THE GOSPEL and salvation.

This is where we are in America. People profess to be “Christian”, but do not love Jesus, nor even think of Jesus unless they are in a valley. Many today say “I’m a member of such and such a church”, but live just like the lost world. God says to these people:

“I don’t care if you’re circumcised or not. I care that I have made you into a NEW CREATURE that loves Me, and obeys Me. I care that I have made you into a NEW CREATURE that treats others as I have commanded. I don’t care that you’re on some generic, man made church roster. I care that your names are written in Heaven, and that you are a Holy People living wholly for Me. I don’t care that you’re part of a mega-Church or a mini-Church. I just care that you care about your brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Have you been born again?
Does CHRIST LIVETH IN ME?

If Christ lives in you, if you are a Child of God by faith in Him, then you will love Jesus MORE than you love your own flesh. We were told in the previous chapter:

Galatians 5:24-25 (KJV) And THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

If you belong to Jesus, you will follow Jesus. So let’s talk about repentance once more. And let’s do it using the ONE CLEAR ILLUSTRATION that God gave us about being crucified with Christ. Let’s go back to Calvary. There is Jesus, hanging on the Cross of Calvary.

The people mocked Him.
The Rulers mocked Him.
The Soldiers mocked Him.
Above His Head, a sign mocked Him.
“THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS”

As Jesus hung, bleeding, dying, struggling to breath, the thief to His left said:

Luke 23:39 (KJV) If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

This man is crucified – but he’s NOT with Christ. He’s like so many in American Christianity today. He wants Jesus to take away his temporary, and deserved, suffering. Jesus is a spare tire. Jesus is a rabbit’s foot. But on Jesus’ right there is another thief:

Luke 23:40-42 (KJV) But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And WE INDEED JUSTLY; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but THIS MAN HAS DONE NOTHING AMISS. 42 And he said unto Jesus, LORD, REMEMBER ME when thou comest into Thy kingdom.

This man came to Jesus late in the day. But he called Jesus LORD, though he was in terrible suffering. He didn’t ask to go to Heaven, but believed that Jesus was the King of Heaven. He said, “REMEMBER ME when thou comest into Thy kingdom”. Jesus wasn’t just dying and then going to cease. This man believed Jesus was the resurrection and the life.

This man was not, to our knowledge, circumcised or had he been baptized. But I do believe this: if he were able, he would have been baptized because Jesus commanded it. The new creature obeys Jesus. The old, world creature does not. The genuine Christian “walks in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).